Universe and the Solar System

Helium

The first element ever created

Inflationary epoch

The universe expanded from the size of an atomic nucleus to

10^35 meters in width.

Formation of the universe

The universe became distinct, possessing gravity, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, and electromagnetic force. At the first seconds, the universe was made up of fundamental particles and energy

Formation of the basic elements

Nucleosynthesis occured

Cosmic microwave background

The remnant energy from the Big Bang or the formation of the universe

1. Protons and neutrons combine to form hydrogen nuclei

2. Hydrogen nuclei combine in pairs to form helium nuclei

What happens during nucleosynthesis?

Matter domination

Matter began to dominate at the end of the radiation era. At this stage, lithium atom began to form. Electrons joined with hydrogen and helium nuclei to make small neutral atoms

1. The slightly irregular areas of gas cloud gravitationally attracted nearby matter and became denser.

2. The dense gas clouds collapsed and eventually gained enough mass to ignite and produce light.

How did the birth of stars and galaxies occur?

Strong force

Short-ranged attractive force which binds the nucleus

Electromagnetic force

Long-ranged force which binds atoms which can either be attractive or repulsive

Weak force

Short-ranged force present in radioactive decay or nuclear fission

Gravitational force

Weak, long-ranged force and attractive force which binds the Solar System

Alexander Friedmann and George Lamaitre in 1920

Who discovered the Big Bang theory? What year was it discovered?

1. A discovery by Edwin Hubble in 1924 of galaxies moving slowly farther away which therefore, concludes that the universe is expanding

2. Discovery of the Cosmic Microwave background by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson in 1960

3. Various light elements found in the universe which confirm the nucleosynthesis theory of the B.B

1. What are the evidence provided for the Big Bang theory?

End of grand unified theory

The era of where quarks, leptons, and their anti-particles formed

Planck time

The earliest known time that could be described by physics

End of unified forces era; quarks

• The split of weak and electromagnetic forces

• Protons and neutrons started forming from __

Gravitational force

What basic forces was the first to be separated?

• Strong forces

• Electromagnetic forces

• Weak forces

What are the unified forces according to the grand unified theory?

Light particle era

Electrons and positrons were formed during this era

Recombination (decoupling) era

Matter and radiation separated

Steady state theory

Proposed that the universe is unchanging in time and uniform in space

Sir James Jean; revised by Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle in 1948

Who are the proponents of the steady-state theory? When was this theory proposed?

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)

Revealed that the geometry of the universe is nearly flat

1. Flatness of the universe

2. Lack of magnetic monopoles in the early universe

3. Horizon

What were the unresolved problems behind the Big Bang theory?

Alan Guth, Andrei Linde, Paul Steinhardt, and Andy Albrecht in 1981

Who are the proponents of the inflation theory? When?

Inflation Theory

Proposed a period of exponential expansion of the universe prior to the more gradual big bang explosion

Inflation causes a massive increase of scale which will cause any celestial object to appear flat because it stretches any initial curvature to flatness

Explain the concept of “the flatness of the universe” according to Inflation Theory

Monopoles were produced prior to the period of inflation, and during the period of inflation, their densities dropped exponentially to an undetectable level

According to the inflation theory, what was the counterargument for monopoles?

Dark energy

The energy of empty space which causes the expansion of the universe to accelerate

Dark matter

It is believed to account for most of the matter in the universe and it is undetected in telescopes

Detection of existing gravitational waves that have interacted with CMB, which was linked to the exponential expansion

What was the conclusive evidence to the inflation theory?

1.6 × 10^-35 m

Planck length

Graviton

A particle carrying the force of gravity

M-theory

Proposes that the origin of the universe occurs as a result of two hyper dimensional branes

11

In M- theory there are _ space dimensions compared to the 4 space dimensions

Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow

Who argued that the collision of M-branes leads to a new universe?

Descartes’ Vortex Theory

Proposed that the Solar system was formed into bodies with nearly circular orbits because of the whirlpool-like motion of the pre solar materials

The orbits of the planets and the satellites

The primary and secondary whirlpool motion

Buffon’s collision theory

Proposed that the planets were formed by the collision of the sun and a giant comet

Kant-Laplace Nebular Theory

Proposed that a great cloud of gas and dust began to collapse because of gravitational pull and as it contracted, it spun more rapidly

It assumed that the total angular momentum of the system was in the sun, yet only 0.5% of the total angular momentum was contained in the sun’s spin

The major flaw of nebular theory

Jean-Jeffrey’s Tidal theory

Proposed that the planets were formed from the substances that were torn out of the sun

Solar nebular theory

Proposed that the solar system developed out of an interstellar cloud of dust and gas, called a nebula

1. Accretion of grain-sized particles to form centimeter sized particles which grow to planetismals

2. Formation of more massively objects called protoplanets

Explain the multiple stages of Solar nebular theory

1. 1M years after the solar system was formed, a strong solar wind swept away all of the gases left in the protoplanetary nebulae

2. As the protoplanet became large, its gravity pulled in the nebular gas

Explain how gas giants were formed according to Solar nebular theory

Inward; outward

Forming the sun requires movement while the magnetic field requires ___ movement

T

T or F: The orbits of all the planets are almost in the same plane

T

T or F: The solar system is flat

F, some have slightly elliptical orbits

T or F: The orbits of the planets are all circular

F, they rotate counter clockwise

T or F: All planets rotate clockwise

Asteroid

• Made up of rocks

• Atmosphere-free

• Orbit around the sun

Main asteroid belt

Located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

Jupiter’s high gravitational force

Asteroids were never formed as planets because of…?

Ceres

the first known asteroid

Comet

• Made up of mainly ice and nonvolatile dust

• Only become active near the sun

The sun’s heat caused sublimation and forms vaporous jets of streams

Describe the process of forming the comet’s tail

Kuiper belt

Located at the outermost region of the Solar Sytem

Halley’s Comet; 200 years

Short period comets like ___ orbit the sun in less than. _ years

Oort cloud

Located farther than the Kuiper belt

Trans-Neptunian object (TNO)

Any object orbiting beyond Neptune

Frost line

The distance of the solar nebula from the protostar

Rocks and metals

What materials condense inside the frost line?

International Astronomical Union

An organization responsible for the naming and nomenclature of the planetary bodes and their satellites

2003UB₃₁₃

The other name for Eris

Planet

• Is in orbit around the sun

• Assumes a nearly-round shape

• Dominates and clears the neighborhood around it

Dwarf planet

• Is in orbit around the sun

• Assumes a nearly-round shape

• Has not cleared its neighborhood

• Is not a satellite

• Eris

• Ceres

• Makemake

• Pluto

• Haumea

Five dwarf planets categorized by the IAU

• Mass

• Size

• Location in the solar system

Planets are classified based on…?